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I recently got a 'discount' for paying my car maintenance in cash. I got cash right next to the garage just to pay in cash. Of course this discount isn't becaus

I recently got a 'discount' for paying my car maintenance in cash. I got cash right next to the garage just to pay in cash. Of course this discount isn't because the owner likes cash, it's because he can just grab the cash and not pay taxes, which is why I got a discount in the first place. The paying in cash and not being traced part is directly connected to a criminal act. Wonder why governments aren't liking cash transactions.

chasil 3y ago
There is also a fee from the credit providers, which I believe is 3% of the transaction. This fee is avoided with cash.
- jrmg 3y ago
  Only if you’re keeping the cash and not banking it. Banks charge businesses handling fees for cash. [not to mention fees on the other end - a huge percentage on most ATM withdrawals].
- donkeyd 3y ago
  In my country, pretty much everything is debit. A debit transaction costs maximum about €0,25 over here. This would've been about 0,1% of the total transaction. A bank transfer would've been free. Meanwhile, VAT would've been 21% and income tax probably close to 50%. So I doubt the transaction fee is relevant at all in my garage's consideration to offer me a 'discount'. This nearly doubles his net income and saves me 21% in VAT, just because it's off the books.
  - chasil 3y ago
    In the U.S., a separate credit card at a different institution is very wise. When using a debit card, holds placed for funds (i.e. hotel incidentals) impact real cash in your account. When using a credit card, these holds impact your credit line, not your actual funds. I avoid using my debit card whenever possible, because it protects my assets more securely.
    - donkeyd 3y ago
      Debit is the standard in my country for pretty much everything... Holds aren't actually common and even most hotels ask you to pay the room in advance for short stays. It's a very different world and something like credit card debt isn't as prevalent here.
      - chasil 3y ago
        Disputing a charge on a credit card is also a very different experience from using debit. "In a credit card dispute, the credit card issuer may issue a chargeback, which means that the disputed funds are taken from your merchant account and returned to the cardholder. With debit card disputes, the disputed funds are typically frozen in the cardholder's account until the dispute is resolved. This means that you may experience a cash flow impact with credit card disputes, while debit card disputes may have a more immediate impact on the customer's access to their funds." https://www.chargeflow.io/blog/credit-card-dispute-vs-debit-card-dispute https://www.chargeflow.io/blog/credit-card-dispute-vs-debit-...
        donkeyd 3y ago
        Yeah, debit disputes hardly every happen. Debit over here is only used with a card present that has a chip. Any transaction over €25 (I think) requires a code. Skimming is virtually non existent and 'card not present' debit transactions don't exist. Like I said, it's a very different world when it comes to payments over here. Apps like Cash App of Venmo are also don't really exist, for example, because banks already provide similar functionality in their apps without transaction fees.
  - lawlessone 3y ago
    That Vat . We are in the same place.
- openthc 3y ago
  Card Present fees are generally lower (1.5%) than Card-Not-Present fees (3%+) Here's some core-fee details: https://gravitypayments.com/support-library/card-brand-fees/ https://gravitypayments.com/support-library/card-brand-fees/ And Gravity's general fee range here: https://www.cardpaymentoptions.com/credit-card-processors/gravity-payments/ https://www.cardpaymentoptions.com/credit-card-processors/gr...
Broken_Hippo 3y ago
The paying in cash and not being traced part is directly connected to a criminal act. Wonder why governments aren't liking cash transactions. Well, sure, sometimes. But criminals definitely use other methods to mask transactions to one another. For example: It used to be somewhat common for a restaurant to steal workers tips if the customer paid the tip by card, and I'd be surprised if they paid taxes on the tips they stole. On the other hand: Do you want others to know how much your tipped each stripper? Privacy matters to a point. In general, you should have the same sort of privacy you can get when using the toilet: A closed door to keep the specific details to yourself, even though everyone knows in general the sorts of things that happen in there. A few exceptions apply - most folks will come to your aid if they think you need help in there, for example.
JohnFen 3y ago
> It's because he can just grab the cash and not pay taxes It won't help him much if he gets audited, though.

chasil 3y ago

There is also a fee from the credit providers, which I believe is 3% of the transaction. This fee is avoided with cash.

jrmg 3y ago
Only if you’re keeping the cash and not banking it. Banks charge businesses handling fees for cash. [not to mention fees on the other end - a huge percentage on most ATM withdrawals].
donkeyd 3y ago
In my country, pretty much everything is debit. A debit transaction costs maximum about €0,25 over here. This would've been about 0,1% of the total transaction. A bank transfer would've been free. Meanwhile, VAT would've been 21% and income tax probably close to 50%. So I doubt the transaction fee is relevant at all in my garage's consideration to offer me a 'discount'. This nearly doubles his net income and saves me 21% in VAT, just because it's off the books.
- chasil 3y ago
  In the U.S., a separate credit card at a different institution is very wise. When using a debit card, holds placed for funds (i.e. hotel incidentals) impact real cash in your account. When using a credit card, these holds impact your credit line, not your actual funds. I avoid using my debit card whenever possible, because it protects my assets more securely.
  - donkeyd 3y ago
    Debit is the standard in my country for pretty much everything... Holds aren't actually common and even most hotels ask you to pay the room in advance for short stays. It's a very different world and something like credit card debt isn't as prevalent here.
    - chasil 3y ago
      Disputing a charge on a credit card is also a very different experience from using debit. "In a credit card dispute, the credit card issuer may issue a chargeback, which means that the disputed funds are taken from your merchant account and returned to the cardholder. With debit card disputes, the disputed funds are typically frozen in the cardholder's account until the dispute is resolved. This means that you may experience a cash flow impact with credit card disputes, while debit card disputes may have a more immediate impact on the customer's access to their funds." https://www.chargeflow.io/blog/credit-card-dispute-vs-debit-card-dispute https://www.chargeflow.io/blog/credit-card-dispute-vs-debit-...
      - donkeyd 3y ago
        Yeah, debit disputes hardly every happen. Debit over here is only used with a card present that has a chip. Any transaction over €25 (I think) requires a code. Skimming is virtually non existent and 'card not present' debit transactions don't exist. Like I said, it's a very different world when it comes to payments over here. Apps like Cash App of Venmo are also don't really exist, for example, because banks already provide similar functionality in their apps without transaction fees.
- lawlessone 3y ago
  That Vat . We are in the same place.
openthc 3y ago
Card Present fees are generally lower (1.5%) than Card-Not-Present fees (3%+) Here's some core-fee details: https://gravitypayments.com/support-library/card-brand-fees/ https://gravitypayments.com/support-library/card-brand-fees/ And Gravity's general fee range here: https://www.cardpaymentoptions.com/credit-card-processors/gravity-payments/ https://www.cardpaymentoptions.com/credit-card-processors/gr...

Broken_Hippo 3y ago

The paying in cash and not being traced part is directly connected to a criminal act. Wonder why governments aren't liking cash transactions. Well, sure, sometimes. But criminals definitely use other methods to mask transactions to one another. For example: It used to be somewhat common for a restaurant to steal workers tips if the customer paid the tip by card, and I'd be surprised if they paid taxes on the tips they stole. On the other hand: Do you want others to know how much your tipped each stripper? Privacy matters to a point. In general, you should have the same sort of privacy you can get when using the toilet: A closed door to keep the specific details to yourself, even though everyone knows in general the sorts of things that happen in there. A few exceptions apply - most folks will come to your aid if they think you need help in there, for example.

JohnFen 3y ago

> It's because he can just grab the cash and not pay taxes It won't help him much if he gets audited, though.